The world’s oldest emergency service - 999 - turns 80 years old on Friday.

The last eight decades have seen the service expand from handling more than 1,000 calls in its first week of operation in London in 1937 to around 560,000 calls a week now - around 30 million calls a year, according to BT’s archives.

The service was launched following a fire at a London doctor’s surgery in November 1935 that resulted in five fatalities, and led to a committee set up by the Government to look at how telephone operators could identify emergency calls.

The committee proposed that there should be a standard easy-to-remember nationwide number to alert the emergency services, first considering 707, which corresponded to the letters SOS on the telephone dial, and 333, but settling on 999 as the most practical number.

Operators answering emergency 999 calls in the 1970s, as the world's oldest emergency service - 999 - is 80 years old today (Image: PA)

Initially, each 999 call triggered flashing red lights and hooters to alert exchange operators to give priority to the emergency call, but the hooters were so loud that the operators pushed a tennis ball into the horn to reduce the volume.

Glasgow was the second city to introduce the service in 1938, but the Second World War delayed the roll-out across the UK until it reached all major towns and cities by 1948.

Transcripts provided by BT operators of exchanges showing the humorous side of unnecessary 999 calls.

Adviser: “Do you need fire, police or ambulance?”

Caller: “I’m sorry to call 999 but I was looking for 101 but I don’t know the number.”

Adviser: “Do you need fire, police or ambulance?”

Young caller: “Mountain Rescue please.”

Adviser: “Where are you?”

Young caller: “I’m on the top bunk and I can’t get down.”

Adviser: “Do you need fire, police or ambulance?”

Caller: “I need the police please it is my daughter’s wedding day and her dress doesn’t fit anymore. I need the police to come and help me get her in it.”